BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Just when it looked like Frank Yallop had managed to get all the pieces of his Chicago Fire jigsaw aligned into the cohesive, attacking unit he imagined, the Chicago Fire head coach will have to return to the drawing board for Saturday’s must-win game at the Montreal Impact.
With top scorer David Accam, rookie standout Matt Polster and Joevin Jones representing their countries across the globe this weekend, Yallop must delve deep into his roster if he is to maintain the “momentum” gained with the recent win over the New York Red Bulls and ties with the Philadelphia Union and Orlando City SC.
“We’re going to be missing some key players, but we’re hoping that the little bit of momentum in the last league games we’ve had can carry us through,” Yallop told reporters on a conference call earlier this week.
Yallop does have workable deputies with Harry Shipp positioned to replace Accam, Lovel Palmer in contention to return for Polster at right back and either Greg Cochrane or Patrick Doody ready to fill in for Jones at left back. He could also choose to reshuffle his backline completely with center back Ty Harden also nearing full fitness and the likes of Matt Watson, Chris Ritter and Jason Johnson also capable of fulfilling multiple roles.
“We've got some options,” Yallop said at training Thursday. “I think our squad’s pretty strong. We’ve lost some players to international duty, but it gives an opportunity to other guys to get a chance to play. I have full faith in them to play well and do well.”
Goalkeeper Sean Johnson believes the loss of such key players can be turned into a positive, especially as it will give fringe players the chance to prove their worth in testing circumstances.
“I think it’s exciting, especially as it’s an opportunity for some guys who haven’t gotten as much minutes to get in there and show what they’ve got,” Johnson, who will not miss any playing time with the Fire despite linking up with the USMNT for Tuesday’s friendly with Brazil, told MLSsoccer.com. “We’ve got a deep squad, we’ve got to rely on these guys, that’s what they’re there for. They’re on the team for a reason, it’s a strong team, so I’m excited to see some players step in and show what they’ve got.”
With just eight regular season games remaining, the Fire are two points adrift of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. And with two clashes against playoff rivals Montreal coming up this Saturday (8 pm ET; MLS LIVE) and on September 23, the Fire know failure to get something tangible from those games will bring a premature end to their season.
“That’s our season right there,” midfielder Mikey Stephens told MLSsoccer.com. “If we beat Montreal or beat them and draw we have a chance to make the playoffs. If we lose these games it’s finished. We know mathematically that’s not true but that’s basically how we have to look at it. These are desperate games for us, we need to come out and have good performances to win those games.”
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Johnson is also acutely aware of the importance of each of the Fire’s upcoming games and, like Stephens, knows how critical each game is to shaping the Men in Red’s season.
“Every game for the rest of the season is vital,” Johnson, who will link up with the USMNT after the Montreal game, added. “We’ve gotten ourselves in position now where we can either make the push or we can go down, and that’s up to us to decide. It all starts this upcoming Saturday in Montreal. It will be a battle, both teams are pushing for a playoff spot and they are two very important games coming up for the rest of our season.”
“With eight games left you basically just take it as one-game playoffs every game,” Stephens added. “You have to try to win every game.”
